Forced to fight
by Tennoda
Summary: Dawn has the ability to control metal. She's been learning to fight Decepticons, but nobody taught her what to do, when one of the Autobots attacks her.
1. Friendly fire

Well, this is an old thing I wasn't even supposed to put here, until my sister told me I should. So I did.

This is about my oc, Dawn, who has the power to control metal. I've written quite a lot of disturbing oneshots with her (especially after I discovered and fell in love with Transformers Prime xD) and I'll probably put them here too at some point.

I do not own the Transformers, just Dawn.

* * *

Dawn's training had been very efficient so far. She had learned a lot from the Autobots, mainly tips on how to fight against the Decepticons. She could now concentrate her attacks on their weaker points, thanks to Ratchet who had given her quite thorough lessons on Cybertronian anatomy, using poor Bumblebee as his teaching material on the latest time.

She would've never guessed that the first time she got to use her newly gained knowledge, it was against an Autobot.

"There you are Bee, I've been looking for you", Dawn exclaimed, finding the yellow mech on the roof of the base's warehouse. She climbed up the ladder, stepping on to the roof and gave a tentative smile. "So… a good place to sunbathe?"

Bumblebee stayed still, casually lying on his back with his arms crossed beneath his head. Only his optics that refused to look at her revealed that he didn't much care for being found.

Dawn walked next to him, pondering how to handle the pouting Autobot. She wanted to say how cute he looked when he was sulking, but that would've probably earned her a short flight off the roof.

"I'm sorry", she said softly. "Please don't be angry at Ratchet, you know he's just doing everything to give me a better fighting chance. He didn't do it to embarrass you."

Bee turned his head away, still silent. Dawn continued. "You should be angry at me. I didn't even realize you were so uncomfortable. I should've noticed and I'm really sorry I didn't."

Another silence, but this time Bumblebee gave in and turned to look at her. "I'm not angry at you. Nor him. Not much at least."

"You're clearly angry at someone."

The yellow mech sighed and sat up. "That was my punishment for not following orders on our last mission."

"Optimus put you to it?"

"Yep."

"Well, at least it's over now."

"I still have to do it two times."

"Oh", Dawn struggled to find comforting words. "Um, it's not that bad when you've already done it once?"

"I don't know", Bumblebee rolled his optics. "You take off all your clothes and give Ironhide a lesson on human anatomy. Then tell me if you think it gets easier the second time."

"Oh god, you got a nasty point there", Dawn had to admit, though the thought of doing that to the grumpy weapons expert was both disturbing and amusing at the same time.

The sudden, beeping sound of Bumblebee chuckling pulled Dawn back from the strange mental image that had been forming in her head. "Oh, what are you laughing about. You just basically said that I'm as pleasant as Ironhide. Not exactly the greatest compliment I've received."

"At least you got the point", the mech stated nonchalantly.

Dawn shook her head, muttering loudly. "Here I'm trying to help and I get categorized in the same class with that old…" She sighed in the middle of her sentence. "Alright, how about I talk to Optimus? See if I can convince him that you've suffered enough."

Bumblebee's mood was noticeably lifted. "You'd be my favorite human forever."

"What? I'm not already?" Dawn crossed her arms in front of her in fake irritation.

The Autobot shrugged, dragging out his answer. "Well…"

Dawn gave him a push with her powers and Bumblebee retaliated by snatching her up and placing her on his shoulder. "Let's go see if Optimus is back."

"Where's he gone to now?" Dawn clung tighter to the yellow mech's head as he stepped to the edge of the roof. "You know I think I'll just take the ladder…"

"I don't know, I skipped the mission briefing when they told me I wouldn't be going", Bee scoffed, jumping down and grabbing the edge while he spoke. "But probably just a few 'cons scouting close by again."

Dawn tried to ignore the fact that they were hanging from the side of a building. "I hope."

She braced herself as Bee let go and they fell. The distance that would've broken several of her bones didn't faze the large mech. She let go with her other hand quickly, before she would receive any smart-alecky comments. "I wish Optimus would let me go with them, so I could finally stop worrying."

Bumblebee stood still for a moment; then his head jerked towards the med bay. "He's back already."

"Huh?" Dawn of course hadn't heard the conversation the Autobot had just had with someone on their inner comm. "Optimus?"

Bee started striding with Dawn still on his shoulder. "Something happened. He's with Ratchet."

"No, no", Dawn got a sickly feeling in her stomach. "Please tell me everyone's fine."

"Yes", the yellow mech sounded somewhat unsure. "Optimus is in recharge and the others are still out there."

Dawn wanted to tell him to hurry up, but Bumblebee was already almost running and going any faster would've probably caused her to fall. They reached the med bay quickly enough and Bee helped Dawn down.

Optimus was there in his truck form, Ratchet by his side scanning him with one of his devices. He raised his optics as they approached. "He's fine, so stop it with those faces."

Dawn relaxed, taking the medic's word for it. "What happened?"

"A Decepticon ambush", Ratchet stated briefly. "A hit and run. It's strange; they got Optimus good, but didn't stay to keep attacking. The others are still in pursuit."

Dawn would've wanted Optimus to confirm he was fine with his own words, but knew Ratchet would never let anyone disturb his patients. "Can I help with anything?"

The medic gave them a look he usually used to get rid of unwanted spectators, but since neither of them took the hint, he gave in. "Fine. Bumblebee, you check the perimeter and make sure no 'cons have followed Optimus here. Dawn…"

"I'll stay here with him", she said resolutely.

Ratchet sighed annoyed. "Just be quiet and don't touch anything. And come tell me when he wakes up, so I can check him again before he gets the chance to vanish somewhere."

"He does that?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "The great Optimus Prime?"

"Anyone in their right mind would do that", Bumblebee whispered, cringing when Ratchet glared at him. "I'll be going now."

Dawn stifled a laugh, looking after the Autobot who snuck out as fast as he could, no doubt worrying that Ratchet might decide it was time for his regular checkup.

Ratchet turned to leave too, but stopped to point at something. "When you get bored, you can use that scrap bin to hone your skills."

With that he left Dawn frowning to herself. "I swear he'll soon make me train in my sleep."

There were no human sized chairs anywhere, so Dawn wandered around, looking, but not touching as she'd been instructed. Soon she had to admit that Ratchet had been right, and the wait as well as the silence was getting on her nerves.

She walked to the motionless truck and placed her hand on the smooth metal. "Don't worry, I'm not really going to turn you in to Ratchet, so just wake up when you're ready."

Not expecting any answer, Dawn turned and walked to the large bin with the metal scrap. With the flick of her finger she made its contents rise in the air, where she spread it around to better see what there was.

"Dawn?"

Hearing the familiar, deep voice broke Dawn's concentration immediately. "You're…" the horrible racket as the falling metal hit the floor drowned out the rest of her sentence. She spun around excited and saw Optimus in his holoform.

"You're awake", she repeated happily, a wave of relief washing over her. "Are you okay?"

The feeling didn't last long as she took a closer look at the red and blue Autobot. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"Dawn…" Optimus' voice sounded strained. He covered his face with his hand and turned away, staggering.

"I'm here", Dawn rushed to his holoform. "I have to go get Ratchet; he'll know what to do."

"Yes… no…have to go… now."

"I'll be right back with him", Dawn promised, scared by how incoherent the Autobot leader was. She tried to leave, but got nowhere when Optimus suddenly grabbed her arm. She looked at him surprised.

"No… you can't go", Optimus sounded more certain this time and tightened his grip enough to make Dawn wince. "You're coming with me."

"W-why?" Dawn had no idea what was going on or what she should do. The holoform started dragging her to where Optimus really was still in his truck form. The door on the driver's side opened.

"I'm taking you to Megatron."

Dawn swung her free arm reflexively, hearing the name she dreaded, and let her power flow with it to break the holoform.

"What?!" She shouted in disbelief at the truck. She still didn't know why this was happening, but she had already once stood in front of the Decepticon leader and knew she couldn't do it again. "Optimus, listen to me. You're being controlled. They must've done something to you in the attack."

Dawn was backing out slowly while talking, hoping she could keep Optimus in his senses long enough to get out and alert the others. They would have to summon everyone back to the base as quickly as possible.

Dawn's back hit something and before she could glance over her shoulder, she was trapped in a crushing hold. Optimus' holoform had appeared again and was very successfully squeezing the breath out of her.

She wanted to say something, to beg him to stop, but how could she have, when she couldn't even breathe. Her arms were pinned to her sides and her feet weren't touching the floor. She was losing consciousness fast and fear overwhelmed her.

Dawn imagined waking up too see the red, gloating optics of the Decepticons and the lifeless remains of Optimus beside them and something inside her simply refused to accept that.

She began falling into the darkness, but as soon as it had engulfed her, it came to an abrupt end. Dawn's vision cleared and she found herself lying on the floor, gasping for air. She lifted her head off the floor and saw no sign of the holoform.

The world was still spinning in Dawn's eyes as she scrambled to her feet. She must've used her powers again, even though she couldn't remember it.

Ratchet. The thought came back to her suddenly. She needed to get to him before…

The truck started transforming. Dawn stared at the sight she had seen countless of times since she had come to the base. The difference being that before she hadn't been afraid to see it.

"Optimus…" she breathed the name with sadness as she watched the giant mech stand up to his full height. No more holoforms she could safely attack. If she had to attack now, it would hurt him for real.

The piercing, blue optics looked down at Dawn. She looked back, searching for anything familiar in the warrior's face, but it was devoid of any emotion.

"I know something's affecting you", she stood her ground as the heavy footsteps of the approaching Autobot leader echoed in the hall. "If you can still hear me, you have to fight it. You're Optimus Prime, remember? You _can_ fight it."

Dawn felt her heart trying to break out of her chest as Optimus got down on one knee in front of her. A small glimmer of hope awakened inside of her when he just kept looking at her.

"You're coming with me", the rumbling voice washed away the hope. Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but Optimus continued, ignoring her.

"Or we can stay here until you change your mind."

Dawn fell silent, failing to understand what he had meant, but not for long.

"Well, that was surprisingly quick. I thought you'd be out cold for much longer."

Dawn spun around to see Ratchet coming in. Realization hitting her, she turned back to Optimus with wide eyes. "You called him here."

"And now you'll decide."

"You… you wouldn't… not even when you're like this…"

Optimus didn't answer her, just giving her a cold look before standing up and focusing on the clueless medic.

"Ratchet, get out of here!" Dawn screamed at the same time as Optimus' arm changed into a cannon. Her warning came too late for the unprepared mech, who took the blast straight to the joint that connected his leg to his torso. Dawn watched paralyzed as he went down.

"What!? Optimus, what is this?!" Ratchet couldn't have sounded more surprised if he had tried. He made an effort to stand up, but his injured leg, which seemed to be pretty much useless now, didn't make it easy.

"He's… he's being controlled somehow", Dawn was still shocked and found it difficult to speak. "He wants to take me to the Decepticons."

"Have you made up your mind yet?"

Dawn looked back and forth between the two Autobots who should have never been in that situation, torn by the need to protect everyone else and the reality of what would happen to her and Optimus if she would just give up and turn herself in to the Decepticons.

"Dawn", Ratchet's voice was level, but he was speaking hastily. "I'll call the others back. Just take care of yourself."

"No", Optimus aimed his weapon at the medic again. "You won't."

"Stop it!" Dawn was barely fast enough to use her power and push the arm aside, making the shot miss and fly through the wall. "Please, just…"

Tears were welling up in Dawn's eyes as she made her decision and turned to Optimus. The large mech knelt down again, this time offering his hand for her to step on. "Let's go."

Dawn wiped the tears off and shook her head. "No."

What she had to do, pained her more than it did the red and blue Autobot. Forgetting all caution, she released her power in one, huge wave that sent even the huge Autobot leader flying back.

Dawn breathed fast from the sudden exertion, but had no time to be standing around. She gave Ratchet one last glance before sprinting away from him to the other exit. She heard him shouting after her.

"Be smart! Use what you know!"

"I don't know if I can", Dawn muttered to herself. She sent another wave to keep Optimus from getting up right away and quickly squeezed through the heavy doors, which thankfully were slightly ajar.

If she had attacked Optimus like she would've attacked a Decepticon, she would've first tried to take out his optics. The large waves should've been the last thing to try, since they consumed the most energy. They also did less damage than concentrated attacks, which is why she had used them. She was simply afraid of hurting Optimus, even if it was to prevent him from doing something he would regret.

Running as fast as she could, Dawn knew she had only two choices. She could hide and hold out until help arrived, or she could keep fighting, which meant she would have to get serious if she wanted to stand a chance.

Dawn bit her lip, thinking fast. Hiding would put Ratchet in danger again, fighting would risk Optimus getting seriously hurt. She wasn't so much afraid for herself, she was pretty sure Optimus was supposed to bring her alive, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted time threatening to hurt Ratchet.

The med bay's doors blew open and Optimus walked out, transforming his arm back to normal. "What are you going to do?" he asked with a booming voice, fixing his gaze at Dawn, who had stopped running.

"There's nowhere to run", he stepped closer.

"Try to hide and you know what will happen." Another step. "You're not even ready for a real fight. So tell me, what is there left?"

Dawn gritted her teeth, watching the giant mech close the distance between them. She tried to recap what Ratchet had spent time hammering into her head. Unfortunately she wasn't much of a mechanic and it was like trying to suddenly remember human anatomy in Latin.

Just take them down and take out the sight, Dawn reminded herself. That was the gist of it. She might not have been a top student, but she knew how to use her environment, and she knew the base.

Contrary to the pushing waves, she concentrated on an open container until she could feel it with her mind as if she had been touching it with her own hands. It was easy to manipulate after she got the feel of it.

The screeching sound of the big container sliding towards him alerted Optimus to the attack. He could've dodged, but instead took the hit, pushing against the container until it stopped.

"This is futile", he grunted, sounding like he was getting annoyed. "You can't win."

"I won't give up until I get you back." Dawn threw her arm up and the container followed her movement, flipping over against the Autobot leader's chassis.

Optimus had to take a step back to regain his balance. He grabbed the edge of the container, leaving a handprint on it, and chucked it back at the woman. Dawn didn't think, she instinctively pulled another container in front of her for cover.

The two heavy objects collided with force, stopping so close to her, she could've reached her hand to touch one of them. This sure tops even Ironhide's training sessions, she thought briefly with little amusement.

Dawn searched her surroundings feverishly, hearing the mech coming again. She let her powers take control and expand her mind, and felt one of the containers on the yard holding more than enough metal for her to use.

From her temporary cover, she squeezed the metal into one, tight cluster, hoping it wasn't anything important or irreplaceable, and stepped out in the open just as Optimus reached the containers.

Dawn had little time to aim, but as soon as she saw the containers being moved aside, she sent her improvised weapon to the Autobot's feet. She got a good hit in, she could tell, but it wasn't enough to take Optimus down. She focused harder, flying the mass of metal back and forth around the red and blue mech, targeting different parts and striking as often as she could.

"So there is some fire in you, after all", Optimus admitted, narrowly dodging the latest attack and smashing the cloud of metal back into pieces. "But not enough."

Dawn was too focused to answer. Changing tactics, she chose half a dozen pieces and shot them separately at the Autobot leader. They flew like bullets, and Dawn was content to see most of them sticking to his legs and, though she still grimaced at the thought of having possibly damaged sensitive wiring or piping.

She hadn't brought him down, but apparently she had done something, since she noticed the look on Optimus' face changing. She continued reluctantly, knowing that she would have to go for the optics while she had the chance.

"This has gone on for too long already", Optimus' voice had gotten a lot more menacing from a moment ago. "Let's see if you come quietly after I break both of your arms."

Dawn felt her face whiten from the threat. She hesitated just for a moment and lost her concentration. Her mind was fumbling to get a hold again, but everything felt somehow slippery.

Optimus crossed the distance between them with two strides and Dawn had to rely on the wave attacks again. Her first attack pushed the large mech back a step. She summoned her strength for a bigger strike, but to her shock, it was her legs that suddenly gave in.

"What…" she panted heavily, wiping her forehead, which was covered in cold sweat. The horrible realization came clear to her as well as to Optimus.

"You're out of energy", he stated, sounding almost as surprised as Dawn felt. Then he laughed, and it wasn't anywhere near to the pleasant laughter Dawn remembered.

She forced herself to stand up as Optimus' hand came down to close around her, and used whatever she had left to push the hand back. For a few seconds, it stayed hovering in front of her, but finally she couldn't hold it any longer.

Dawn lost her grip and the hand pushed her roughly to the ground. She hit her head and struggled dazed under the massive weight, unable to do anything to the metal fingers that were pressing down on her. She had just lost.

"And now…" Optimus moved his fingers slightly. "…we were supposed to do something about those arms."

Dawn felt the pressure on her arms quickly becoming unbearable and she couldn't stifle a cry of pain that escaped her. "Stop…" she begged once more, but the look on the azure optics was merciless.

"Too late."

Dawn screamed and shut her eyes in agony, waiting and fearing to hear the sound of her bones snapping.

What she heard, was a loud crash, followed by an incredibly relieving sensation as the weight on top of her was removed. She saw the clear sky above her, wondering groggily what had happened to Optimus. Then a familiar yellow face blocked the sky from her view.

"Bee…" she whispered happily. The young Autobot picked her up carefully, shocked beyond words.

Dawn raised her hand to caress his face and was glad that she could do so. Her arms weren't broken at least. He had come to save her just in the nick of time. "We have to help him…" she spoke weakly. "He's not himself. Ratchet… called help."

"I know", Bumblebee stroked her hair comfortingly. "I heard it. I came as fast as I could."

"I couldn't do it, Bee. I couldn't fight him seriously. I just… didn't want to hurt him."

"It's okay. Don't worry. The others are almost here. You just stay back."

Dawn felt worry flowing over her as the Autobot placed her back on the ground, staring intently at something behind her. She turned to see Optimus looking back at them.

"No, you can't…" she swallowed the rest of the sentence, knowing there was no other way. "Please, just… stall for some time. Keep your distance."

"You don't need to tell me", Bumblebee answered confidently. "But I'm still going to pay him back for what he did to you, brainwashed or not."

Dawn was too tired to argue and settled to hoping that Bee wouldn't have to fight alone for long. She wobbled back until she reached the wall of another building and fell down, leaning her back against it.

The two Autobots wasted no time and Dawn had to avert her eyes as Bumblebee charged straight at the bigger mech.

"Dammit, Bee", she cursed the hotheaded scout under her breath. "What part of keep your distance didn't you get?"

She could hear the two clashing and trashing the yard, and stole a glimpse just to turn away again when Bumblebee narrowly dove under Optimus' swinging arm and continued dancing around him nimbly.

"You crazy…" Dawn would've gotten up and thoroughly scolded the rash Autobot if she had had the strength to even get up. "If he doesn't get killed here, I'm going to kill him myself."

"Dawn!"

Such thoughts were quickly erased from Dawn's mind by a blast hitting the wall next to her. She let out a surprised scream, ducking instinctively and searching for the source. She saw Bumblebee frozen in place and looking at her with obvious worry, and Optimus using it to his advantage.

"Bee, it's a diversion…!"

Bumblebee snapped out of it, moving back as quickly as he could and raising his arms for cover. He was too close to get out of the way and too unbalanced to do anything else as Optimus rammed him to the ground.

Dawn felt like her heart was about to burst with fear. She got to her knees, trying to push herself back to her feet. She saw another blast being shot, flying harmlessly to the sky. Then she heard Bumblebee wailing in pain and even though she couldn't see him properly on the ground, she knew he was trapped under the much bigger mech.

"Nooo!" Dawn screamed desperately, fear constricting her chest as she dragged herself forward the best she could. "I'm right here! Forget about him and come get me!"

She caught a glimpse of Bumblebee's arm, which was badly mangled and suddenly she remembered Ratchet's voice from their previous lesson.

"This is a very effective way of attacking, but I doubt you'll use it."

For just a second, Dawn forgot about her surroundings. She could vividly see Ratchet ordering the embarrassed Bee to show his more sensitive parts, and the yellow Autobot moaning in protest. Of course he was completely ignored by the medic.

"If you can focus on the right area, you'll stop your enemy in their tracks for certain. With very little effort you could even kill them."

Bee had reluctantly opened up his spark chamber and Ratchet had continued. "Tear open or collapse the chamber and the spark will be gone."

Dawn had stared mesmerized at the brilliantly glowing orb in Bumblebee's chassis, and suddenly felt overwhelming sadness at the thought of possibly having to extinguish something so beautiful, whether it belonged to a Decepticon or not.

Dawn awakened back to reality, distantly surprised to notice she had been moving closer to the fight the whole time. Everything felt like a slow moving dream. She saw Optimus raising his fist and driving it into the smaller warrior's chassis.

Unnoticed, a lonely tear slid down the side of Dawn's face as she lifted her trembling hand in front of her and prepared for one last attack.

She closed her eyes, letting the feel of metal come to her. She got closer and closer to what she was looking for until, strangely enough, she thought she could even feel the soft hum of the spark.

Knowing she was at her absolute limits, Dawn couldn't hesitate anymore. She gave a tentative tug.

Her eyes shot open as she heard Optimus groan. He had stopped his assault on Bumblebee, hovering over him and looking very much taken aback. Dawn knew he had guessed what was happening as his optics turned to her with a challenging gleam. How far was she ready to go, was the question in both of their heads.

Dawn tightened her hold as Optimus tried to attack the furiously resisting Bee again, bending the walls of the spark chamber more. This time Optimus' hand went to his chassis and he doubled over in agony.

Dawn's vision was getting blurry fast and no matter how hard she tried to draw breath, she felt like she was getting no air in her lungs. She was quickly forgetting what she had even been doing and could only wonder what she had done to the ground to make it come and hit her in the head.

The transition from nothingness to again being aware of one's own existence happened relatively fast. Getting to the point where she could remember anything or gain control of her body seemed to take forever. Finally, however, Dawn managed to open her eyes.

She stared dully at the ceiling far above her, vaguely registering there was something on her face. Trying to lift her hand ended up causing a whole set of aches everywhere, but she did it anyway. The thing on her face was rubbery. An oxygen mask. Dawn took it off, happy to get rid of the smell, though there was still a horrible dry feel in her throat.

"You… you're awake! I leave for five minutes and then you decide to wake up!"

Dawn turned her head slowly and saw Sideswipe rushing towards her. There was an inscrutable look on his face.

"H-hi", Dawn's voice was hoarse. She expected him to start his usual way of teasing her, but when he got to her, he fell silent.

Dawn couldn't remember ever seeing the fun-loving Autobot so serious, just staring at her. A terrifying thought occurred to her, giving her the will to force herself to sit up. "W-what happened? Is… please tell me everyone is fine! Optimus and Bumblebee…"

Her alarmed blabbering was cut short by Sideswipe kneeling next to her bed and enveloping her shoulders in his hands in an almost angry manner. "Have you got any idea, what you did?! And the first thing you do is ask about them!"

Dawn stared dumbfounded at the red Autobot scolding her. "What I… did?"

Sideswipe's optics were flashing and he looked like he was fighting back the urge to shake her. "Don't you get it? They're fine! You… you have been here for days, barely alive."

"I used a lot of my powers", Dawn tried to soften the Autobot with a small smile. "Apparently I just needed a few days to gather up my strength again."

That didn't appease Sideswipe. "You. Were. Dead."

Dawn's smile faded away. She didn't know what to say. "Really?"

"You were not breathing when we finally got to you. We had to jump-start your heart."

"No…" Dawn had trouble believing it. "I wasn't even hurt badly. I was just exhausted."

Sideswipe shook his head with a bitter smile. "You don't get it, do you? How could you do something so stupid? You could've done anything else and you decided to keep pouring out your energy until it killed you."

"Alright, so I'm stupid", Dawn sighed tiredly. "I won't do it again. Just please, will you finally tell me what happened to everyone else."

A stern voice from the door answered her question "Everyone else is in much better shape than you."

Dawn cringed, recognizing Ratchet's voice and the fact that he wasn't any happier than Sideswipe. She glanced carefully at the door and her face brightened from what she saw. "You're both okay!"

Bumblebee, who had just walked in after the medic, waved his hand at Dawn. "Of course."

Sideswipe looked at her like he still had something to say, but instead got up and stormed out. Dawn was left staring after him baffled. "I just don't get why he's so angry."

"You don't?" Ratchet walked next to her bed. "Obviously you're important to him, as well as to the rest of us. Lie down."

Dawn ignored the command. "And obviously you're all important to me. But I still don't bite anyone's head off for risking their lives, because I know that's what you sometimes have to do."

"Sideswipe wasn't exaggerating your situation at all", Ratchet gave her a piercing scowl. "You risked your life and you did it unnecessarily. I would've thought you already knew better how to use your powers. And I'm not going to ask you to lie down again."

This time Dawn did as told, sensing the sign of danger in the medic's tone. "I was taught to fight Decepticons", she tried to defend herself. "This… I just wasn't prepared."

Ratchet pulled out a needle from her arm Dawn hadn't even noticed was there. Looking down she did notice the huge green and yellow bruises on her arms that she had no doubt gotten when Optimus had almost broken them. Luckily they had started healing already. Dawn didn't want to carry around that kind of a reminder.

"Stay still", Ratchet took out a scanner. Dawn rolled her eyes, turning her attention to Bumblebee, who had been standing close by quietly.

"Please, don't you give me that look too. I'm alive." She took a closer look at him. "Your arm… it's fine now, isn't it?"

"Good as new", Bee raised his hand and wiggled his fingers cheerfully, though Dawn could still see he wasn't being quite his usual self. "Ratchet's been working overtime for days."

"Did you find out what they did to Optimus?"

"Yes", Ratchet answered without raising his optics from the scanner. "It was a virus of a kind, hard to find, but easy to get rid of once he was subdued. I hate to admit it, but that last stunt of yours helped with that."

"Oh", the sudden memory made Dawn feel sick. "How… how much damage did I do?"

"For the last time, he's fine. Everyone's fine, so stop asking!"

"I don't think I can", Dawn let out a heavy sigh. "I thought I would kill him for sure and I did it anyway. How am I supposed to accept that everything's fine?"

"I can tell you and Optimus are going to have a fun conversation", Ratchet stopped eyeing the scan results. "You can squabble which one blames themselves more."

"Oh no", Dawn groaned. "He's blaming himself?"

"Well what did you expect? Have you ever met him? Tall mech, carries the worries of the world on his shoulders…"

"Thank you Ratchet, it's nice to see you have a sense of humor after all. When you're done, I want to go see him."

"Not going to happen."

"But there's nothing wrong with me."

"Yes there is. You're to remain here under observation until I say otherwise."

"What?! Why?"

"Just stay here", Ratchet repeated, heading out without further explanations. "I'll tell Optimus you're awake. Bumblebee, make sure she eats and drinks something."

Dawn shook her head, irritated. "That's ridiculous, I would know if I wasn't fine."

Bumblebee shrugged, not really wanting to pick sides on the matter. Dawn sat up again determinedly and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Her attempt to prove she was okay ended up crashing on the floor with her as soon as her feet touched the floor.

Bumblebee came to her help, lifting her easily back on the bed. "Now I'm starting to think you should listen to Ratchet."

"Crap", Dawn cursed the embarrassing landing. "But still, this just means I'm tired, it doesn't have to mean anything else."

"Sure, don't worry about it", Bee assured her. "Let's get you what the doctor ordered."

Dawn hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she had simply been too tired to keep her eyes open after eating and after Bumblebee had sat down on the floor next to her bed and started stroking her arm lightly while they talked. When she suddenly woke up, she was a little disappointed he wasn't there anymore.

To her relief, Dawn felt a little better already, so she decided to carefully try getting up again. She sat up and ran her fingers through her messy hair, nearly falling out of bed when she heard a deep voice coming from behind her.

"I believe Ratchet told you to stay in bed."

Dawn's breath caught in her throat. She spun around quickly, though the only thing she could see was a blurry version of the red and blue holoform of Optimus as tears began welling up in her eyes immediately.

The look on her face must've been something, since Optimus misunderstood it. "I… should leave."

"N-no!" Dawn wiped her eyes and saw the pained look on the mech's face. He wasn't even looking at her. "Optimus…"

She had so many things she wanted to say and now she was choking up, caught in a storm of emotions. She didn't want to let Optimus go, however, so she jumped to the floor, this time wisely leaning to the bed for support.

"What are you doing?" Optimus saw her legs starting to give in and moved to catch her before she collapsed. "You're in no condition to be standing up."

Dawn wrapped her arms tightly around the Autobot's holoform, resting her head against his chassis. They both stayed there silent, until Dawn finally regained her ability to speak. "Don't you dare to use this as an excuse to keep excluding me from the missions."

She lifted her head to look at Optimus, who clearly hadn't expected to hear her joking. Dawn couldn't help, but smile. The face in front of her might've been burdened with sadness and guilt, but now it was the face she knew.

"What do I need to do to get that look off your face?"

Optimus seemed hesitant, but finally a heavy sigh escaped him and Dawn knew he was starting to open up. "It would be easier if I didn't remember everything."

"I know what you mean", Dawn let her own sadness be heard in her voice. "I hurt you too, in case you didn't notice."

"Not like I hurt you."

"You bruised my arms", Dawn pointed out. "I tried to mangle your spark chamber, which could've killed you. Besides, I have to remind you that unlike me, you didn't choose to do it."

"And I didn't mean just your arms when I said I hurt you", Optimus' grip around her waist tightened a bit as he went back in his memories. "The look on your face… you can't tell me you weren't in pain the whole time."

"It can't have been any worse than yours right now", Dawn accused him half-seriously. "It's over now, you can let it go."

"It's not that simple."

"Why?"

Optimus became hesitant, looking away as if there was something he wanted to bring up, but for some reason didn't want to. Dawn lifted her hand to his face and gently guided it back towards her. "I don't think there's anything I couldn't tell you. I can't imagine what would be so bad you can't tell me."

Something about that coaxed a hint of a bitter smile on Optimus' face. "No, I bet you can't."

He continued, seeming almost absent-minded, like he had been just thinking aloud. "There is something about you that I saw from the beginning… or sensed more like. It's not a coincidence that you ended up here with us. There is a purpose for it, I'm sure of that. I've been thinking about it, trying to solve it, and so far gotten only more confused."

Dawn listened, concentrating on the Autobot's words though they didn't make much sense to her. The purpose of her life hadn't exactly been on her mind lately. She just knew she was right where she wanted to be. Not wanting to interrupt and make him change his mind about telling, though, Dawn stayed quiet.

"Then… this happened", Optimus' optics narrowed. "You very nearly died. That cleared some things up for me, but now I have to keep blaming myself to keep myself from thinking… that maybe it was fortunate that it happened."

If Dawn hadn't been confused enough before, she sure was now. She lowered her hand from the mech's face. "What do you mean?"

"Because of what it made me realize", the thoughtful look was gone and Optimus was back in the present.

Dawn expected him to finally reveal the point behind the speech, but it seemed like he was again unwilling to share his thoughts. Dawn wasn't having any of that anymore.

"Don't stop now, just tell me", she asked with a gentle, but determined voice. "Please. This is clearly something about me, so I want to know."

The internal struggle Optimus was fighting, ended abruptly with his frustrated groan. "I wish you weren't making it so hard to refuse."

For a moment Dawn was clueless about what was happening, gasping in surprise when he suddenly pulled her closer and placed one hand on the back of her head.

Her eyes widened in understanding just before their mouths met in a kiss.

Dawn felt herself quickly melting in the literally electrifying kiss. The hard metal moving against her lips, giving off a small, but constant static discharge felt like nothing she had ever felt and combined with the completely unexpected situation, her brain as well as most of her body seized to function properly.

Optimus pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. They looked at each other and Dawn thought she could see the Autobot leader looking just as surprised as she was. Then they were kissing again and Dawn had no idea who had started it, but this time it wasn't anything like the first, tentative one.

She clung to Optimus' broad shoulders like her life depended on it, and he went further, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. The tingling sensation from their kiss spread to everywhere they were touching, right down with the hand that was supporting her butt.

Dawn felt her back hitting a wall, but she didn't care. A moan of pleasure escaped her and she didn't care about that either. She wanted to get deeper into the kiss. There was something strange, but familiar she could feel among everything else.

She moved her hand towards the source of the feeling and realized her hand was pushing against Optimus' chassis. It was his spark. She had felt it when they were fighting too. She didn't think she was doing anything, but suddenly Optimus tensed up and pulled his head back again.

"What did you just do?"

"I could ask the both of you the same question."

If Dawn hadn't been holding on to him, Optimus would've dropped her. She jumped back to the floor, and Optimus had to catch her again as her feet still didn't carry her.

"She is my patient", Ratchet's stern voice scolded both of them. "I don't care what you do outside, but here you do exactly as I say. Now get her back to bed!"

Optimus might've been the mighty leader of the Autobots, but even he didn't question his chief medical officer's orders. Dawn could hear his intakes working harder than normal as he carried her, which didn't surprise her since she was breathing heavily herself.

She knew she should've been mortified that Ratchet had caught them, but she couldn't shake the thrill of what had just happened. She could still feel sort of an afterglow and was slightly disappointed when Optimus helped her sit on the bed and they were separated.

Ratchet glared at them, muttering to himself as he took out the same scanner he had used before and began examining her. "How irresponsible can you be, no one cares how much more work I have to do every time my instructions are ignored, it's not like I don't have things to do even when everyone's in one piece..."

Dawn and Optimus turned away from the grumbling medic and faced each other. Neither knew what to say, but both knew there was no denying what had just happened. No going back to the way things were.

"I'd better go then", Optimus said quietly, trying not to attract the medic's attention. "So you can rest."

"I guess you have no choice", Dawn smiled, painfully aware how flushed she still was.

"Now how is this possible?"

Dawn didn't like the perplexed tone in Ratchet's question, especially when it had something to do with her. "What is it?" She asked carefully.

"The results", he frowned. "They're completely different from before. And they were from this morning."

"So? I slept for a while and now I'm feeling better. What's strange about that?"

Ratchet shook his head. "It wasn't something you could simply sleep off. Practically nothing in your body was working right, you should've been bedridden for weeks."

A look of disbelief crossed the medic's face as an idea came to him. "Do it again."

"Wha… you mean… n-no!" Dawn said the last word a little more strictly than she had meant and glanced at Optimus. "Please, don't take this the wrong way…"

The holoform of the Autobot leader raised his hand in a calming gesture. "I know what you mean. Ratchet, that's not something for you to study right now."

"But if I'm right and you were somehow miraculously healing her…"

"Still no."

Ratchet looked like someone had just given him a new toy and then taken it from him right away. "Fine, for now… Then I'm going to give you a thorough checkup to see if it affected you too."

Optimus accepted his fate with a sigh and turned off the holoform. Ratchet began leaving hastily, no doubt excited about the possibility of any new finds. He hardly glanced at Dawn on his way out, but remembered to make sure the rest of her day was ruined.

"Don't go anywhere! I'm not done with you yet."

Dawn rolled her eyes in frustration and let herself fall down on the bed. "Great."

That's just what she needed. To spend time alone with her thoughts after everything. She had never felt that kind of explosive passion with anyone. How could it have happened with an ancient, giant, robotic warrior? There were so many problems with that she was overwhelmed. She felt trapped inside.

"What the hell am I supposed to do about this?" Dawn covered her face with her hands.

One thing she decided right then. She hoped Sideswipe wasn't still angry at her, because she desperately needed to get out and he was one of the few who dared to defy Ratchet's orders.

Now she only had to come up with a way to stay on her feet, so she could go find him.


	2. Aftermath

Dawn was sneaking around again. For a few days that had been all she had been doing, ever since she had woken up in the infirmary after the involuntary fight with Optimus. Though the actual reason for her sneaking wasn't the fight, but the unexpected kiss afterwards.

That and the fact she had left the infirmary without Ratchet's permission. The medic wasn't very forgiving about things like that. Luckily most of the Autobots were constantly on some mission and she knew how to stay out of sight, occasionally letting herself be seen from afar to let everyone know she was still in the base.

Dawn didn't know how long it would take before she was ready to face Optimus (or Ratchet), but a part of her doubted she would ever be. If she had felt nothing for the Autobot leader, things would've been easier to explain, but it wasn't so. In fact, just thinking about him made her heart beat faster. That was a lot harder to explain, even to herself.

Dawn was planning on asking Sideswipe to take her to the waterfalls where he had once taken her with Sunstreaker; maybe stay there for another few days. First she just needed to forage for food and leave a note that she would be gone for a while.

Dawn walked past Wheeljack who just happened to come out of his workshop. The inventor seemed to be in a hurry and Dawn had to move quickly out of the way. "Whoa, something about to blow up in there, or what's with the hasty exit?"

Wheeljack glanced at her absent-mindedly. "No, no, not at all. But better not to go in there right now."

Dawn smiled affectionately, looking at the back of the leaving inventor. She envied his ability to lose himself in his work, not having to think about anything else. As she watched him, Wheeljack suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Optimus was looking for you and Ratchet's been going around telling everyone to get you to med bay even if they have to drag you there."

Before Dawn could grimace, Wheeljack continued on his way, waving his hand over his shoulder. "I don't know what that's all about, but I'd keep staying out of sight if I were you."

With that he was gone and Dawn thanked her luck she hadn't run into Prowl or worse, Ratchet himself. Taking Wheeljack's advice, she stayed clear of his workshop. The command center and med bay were of course out of limits too.

At first glance Dawn didn't see anyone in the large warehouse, so she ventured further, heading for the cold room where most of the human foods were stored. The chill air that greeted her was a nice change to the constant midsummer sun.

She eyed the boxes and shelves, pondering what she should take with her, when she heard the door behind her open. She spun around; surprised that anyone had a reason to come there. Even more surprised she was to see Optimus in his holoform.

Dawn didn't even realize how she had reacted until she hit her back painfully into a corner of the metal shelf. She quickly hid her shock in a fake smile, though from the look on Optimus' face, he already knew she wasn't exactly thrilled to see him.

"Uh… hi! W-what are you doing here?"

Optimus closed the door behind him and crossed his arms over his broad chassis. "A little bird told me you were heading this way."

"A little Cybertronian bird I guess", Dawn cursed Wheeljack in her mind. Well, at least he hadn't told Ratchet. She took a closer look at Optimus, noticing how tense he was.

"You've been avoiding me for the last few days", the red and blue Autobot stated matter-of-factly.

Dawn felt a twinge of guilt. "Well, mostly Ratchet", she forced the smile to stay on her face, though she could feel the side of her mouth twitching in protest.

"Stop", Optimus lowered his arms, his tone making it clear he wasn't there for games. "No joking and stop avoiding what happened."

While talking, Optimus approached Dawn, who retreated hastily. "T-this isn't a good idea, Optimus just stop there…"

He didn't stop and soon Dawn had nowhere to go as she felt the wall behind her. Optimus stopped in front of her, placing his hands against the wall next to her shoulders and leaned closer.

"Why? Why isn't this a good idea? Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

Dawn would've told him, if she had been able to hear her own thoughts over the loud beating of her heart. She stared into the piercing, blue optics and saw determination that almost scared her. She wanted to look away, but had a feeling he wouldn't let her.

"I… I can't."

"Why not?"

Their last encounter came vividly back to Dawn and she could remember exactly what each touch had felt like. It was like her every nerve was now waiting for a repeat, becoming more sensitized in anticipation.

"Can't you see?" she snapped defensively. She was very self-conscious about the fact that she was blushing, breathing quickly and pretty much every word uttered by the mech's deep baritone voice made her shudder slightly. Especially when he spoke that demandingly.

All in all, she was sure only a complete fool could not understand what she was feeling right then. "Why don't you tell me what _you're_ thinking", she kept her voice as even as she could, throwing the ball at the Autobot.

"You", Optimus' optics flashed in a way Dawn had never seen before. "I've been thinking about you and how you felt and…"

Optimus stopped talking, lowering his head and looking like he was struggling with something. When he looked back up, his voice wasn't quite as urgent anymore. "More precisely, I can't stop thinking about you, and I can't wait any longer to find out how you feel."

Before Dawn could prepare herself, Optimus brought his hand to her face and with the lightest touch possible, let his thumb study the soft skin. Dawn forgot to breathe for a moment, a shiver running down her spine.

"Don't… don't do this", she whispered desperately, turning away from the touch.

"Again, why not?" Optimus pushed a strand of hair behind Dawn's ear, sliding his hand down her neck. "You feel the same way, don't you? Every time we touch, it's like a fire being ignited inside."

Dawn looked somewhat surprised back at the mech, who stayed his hand. "You feel it too? This isn't… how can this be happening? It's crazy. I can't control it at all; just thinking of you makes me…"

She could feel her cheeks growing hotter and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

"What?" Optimus urged her to continue. "Please, say it."

Dawn groaned in frustration and pushed his hand away. "I can't do this when I'm not even in control of myself! I want you so badly that it hurts and I don't even know why now, so suddenly!"

She made a hasty attempt to get past Optimus, but he didn't let her leave. Grabbing her by the waist and ignoring her protests, he moved her back and stepped closer, closing her escape routes.

"Optimus!" Dawn shouted angrily, but to no avail.

The Autobot leader brought his face right in front of hers with a challenging look. "If you really want me to stop, then stop me. But do you think if you walk away, it's going to get any better?"

Dawn couldn't say anything. She hadn't even tried to use her powers since the fight and she was sure she could never use them against Optimus again, even if it was just his holoform. Plus she had a feeling he was right.

Her silence was enough of a confirmation to Optimus, who was done waiting. Dawn gasped and hung onto his arms as he easily picked her up and rather roughly threw her on an empty counter.

She didn't resist as he came to stand between her parted legs and leaned over her. His mouth went to her neck and Dawn let her head fall back, unable to escape the pleasurable feeling that was about to reach a boiling point.

Without even fully noticing, Dawn's hands started their own exploration, sliding across the smooth metal surface on Optimus' broad shoulders. Each little nibble and suck sent a static wave through her body, making her clutch him tighter.

Then, abruptly he stopped and lifted his head up. "How are you doing that?"

Dawn looked at the Autobot with confusion. "Doing what?"

Optimus was quiet for a while, keeping his thoughts to himself to Dawn's annoyance. She was just about to ask him again when he took her hand in his. "Let me try something."

Dawn wasn't any less confused, but let him guide her hand to the center of his chassis.

"Keep it there", Optimus instructed her.

"What…" she tried asking, but was interrupted by the mech's mouth suddenly covering hers. She didn't complain, though, instead just going with it. It didn't take long until Optimus pulled back again, with a puzzled look.

"Not enough…"

Dawn was getting more annoyed, first being half-forced into the situation and then ignored. "You know, you're beginning to sound like Ratchet."

"Don't try to ruin the mood", Optimus reproached her with a wry smile. "We'll have to do something about that."

Dawn took a sharp breath as the red and blue Autobot grabbed her leg in one hand and pushed her shirt up with the other. Taking advantage of the exposed skin he let his fingers slowly work their way up to her bra, while his other hand was heading up her thigh.

Dawn couldn't keep from squirming under the sensual assault. No matter how torturous it was and how set against the whole thing she had been a moment ago, now she craved for more. She tried to pull the mech closer for another kiss, but as soon as she moved her hand, Optimus stopped again.

"Patience", his voice rumbled hungrily as he took her hand again. Dawn had to wonder why he was preaching about patience when he was the one looking at her like he was about to lose control.

"I don't think so", Dawn propped herself up on her elbow. "I want to know what you're trying to do, first."

"Or what?" Optimus seemed amused and Dawn couldn't blame him. Could she even walk away if she chose to do so? And would he let her?

She gave an exaggerated sigh and laid back down with a rebellious look. Optimus hid an uncharacteristically smug grin and rewarded her with a static kiss to her stomach before looking back at her.

"Just one more thing", he promised.

There was a brief sound of metal parts shifting and before she knew, Dawn was looking at the Autobot's exposed spark. She was mesmerized by the sight and the strange feeling it gave her until Optimus started pulling her hand towards it.

"No! Wait!" she panicked, tugging her hand back futilely. "What if I hurt you?"

"This is just a holoform", Optimus reminded her. "I can feel you, but even if you somehow managed to harm it, you know it would just shut down."

Dawn was still worried and Optimus could see it. He stroked her hair comfortingly and gave her a long, tingling kiss that left her dazed. "I promise you're not going to hurt me. It's quite the contrary."

Optimus continued moving her hand slowly closer. "Look at me."

It was a gentle demand, one which Dawn couldn't deny. She could feel the warm vibrating hum strongly now, like when she had been forced to temper with the Autobot's spark chamber. It spread through her body and even seemed to envelop her mind.

Completely distracted by the overwhelming sensation, Dawn gasped in shock when she suddenly felt a hand between her legs. It wasn't just static anymore, but more like a decent electric shock.

"Every time… you feel pleasure…", Optimus' speech was now labored, though Dawn hardly even noticed it as he kept rubbing her most intimate are through her thin pants. "…you somehow convey it to me. I don't know how… but I think you're using my spark to do it."

"What?" Some of the haze filling Dawn's mind cleared as his words sunk in. "That's… w-we can't do this!"

She could hear Optimus' intakes working hard and the look in his optics had disbelief. Dawn hurried to explain before he could convince her otherwise. "This could be dangerous for all we know. I seriously have no idea if and how I'm doing what you said and I can't risk it having some bad side effects."

"Besides…" she continued hesitantly. "I, uh… need to tell you something."

Optimus sensed the change in her tone and gave her a little space. "Yes?"

"This is a strange thing too", Dawn didn't know how to say what she had to say, so she just blurted it out. "I lose my powers after I have sex."

The look on Optimus' face was blank for a moment, like he couldn't quite believe what she had said. "That… is strange, yes."

"Not permanently, of course", Dawn gave a lopsided smile. "Just for about 24 hours, depending on how much rest I get afterwards."

Optimus shook his head, returning her smile. "You must be the strangest human on the planet."

"I would really like to be able to disagree with you, but sadly I can't."

"I didn't say that was a bad thing", Optimus' smile got warmer. He caressed Dawn's face fondly and closed the spark chamber before getting up and pulling her on her feet after him. Dawn looked at him with suspicion.

"We're not doing this? After all that effort to convince me."

"Unfortunately I think you might be right about us not knowing enough. I do not worry for myself, but it's clear we still know very little about how your powers work and what they do to you."

"I got a bad feeling I know what that means", Dawn cringed, getting confirmation to her suspicions when Optimus wrapped his arms around her with an apologetic smile.

"We need Ratchet's help."

"Well, it's a good thing you're holding on to me, because that just made me want to bolt."

"Yes, I anticipated that much."

Dawn sighed in defeat. "It's going to be horribly invasive and embarrassing isn't it?"

"Yes", Optimus squeezed her tighter. "But it's for the greater good."

"And here I thought it was so that we could have sex without having to worry."

"I don't know what's better than that."

"No", Dawn rested her head against the broad chassis, feeling the warmth of the spark calling for her. "I don't know either."


End file.
